“Those numbers… that’s not good for me.”
It’s a basic political fact: money follows winners. Judging by Rep. Cory Gardner’s best fundraising quarter ever, he’s definitely won the past few months of his race against Sen. Mark Udall. As The Hill reports:
Colorado Republican Rep. Cory Gardner raised $4.35 million in the third fundraising quarter of the year, his campaign announced Tuesday.
At the end of August, Gardner had $3.3 million cash on hand for the final stretch of his battle with Sen. Mark Udall (D). The campaign has also added $750,000 to its October ad buy.
…”The momentum on the ground is building as Coloradans realize the road to the majority runs directly through our state,” he said. “It’s time for a new generation of leadership in the Senate that is accountable to the next generation.” [the Peak’s emphasis]
If that news wasn’t bad enough for Udall, on top of Gardner having his best quarter ever, the National Republican Senatorial Committee had their best month ever, raising over $15 million. As Sen. Jerry Moran, the chairman of the NRSC, said in a statement:
“We are well positioned to take the majority in November thanks to the overwhelming support from across the country. Over the last twenty months, we’ve revamped NRSC’s direct mail technologies and invested heavily in building a more robust digital operation that has successfully tapped in to the grassroots energy and enthusiasm that’s out there to shakeup the Senate. This class of Republican candidates is one of the strongest in decades and these resources will help lead them to victory in November. We cannot thank our supporters enough, each of whom is a partner in the effort to win the Senate.” [the Peak’s emphasis]
A Democratic poll yesterday showed how Udall has already maxed out his attacks, now he and his campaign have to worry about Republicans finally matching him dollar for dollar the rest of the campaign – a significant turn of events as he has long-enjoyed the money advantage in this race.
Udall would have been nervous had he even a small lead going into the final month, but this recent news coupled with the fact that most every recent poll has him tied or losing, must have him and his campaign feeling downright ill.
Yep, Republicans sense blood in the water when it comes to Udall, and they are moving in for the kill.